the LAST FILM YOU'VE SEEN thread

Quote:

---

Good stuff. However, I'm not sure if you had to pronounce, "Elegant, talky, intellectual stuff not for the Michael Bay fan." Most wouldn't but let's keep the door open.

I love Un coeur en hiver (1992), I think it's one of the best French films of the 90's. Nelly is good but it's a bit meandering and is ultimately inconclusive. Fine performances, though. It was Sautet's last film.

---

You're right because that's misleading. I didn't mean a specific demographic, only somebody who's looking for an action movie. The door is always open. But in this particular area, where Nelly showed is not where Michael Bay movies show. So they'd have to drive cross town as well as open doors. I agree with you that I feel that Sautet creates a bit too much static in Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud with the other men and plotlines and the lady who introduces Nelly to M. Arnaud, a party, nights out, etc. This indeed causes the movie to be meandering. It's a shame because Béart and Serrault are so crisp and effective together. You don't need much else. But a character portrait as haunting and an actor as right for it as Auteuil in Un cœur en hiver just come along only once in a lifetiime; luckily it came along for Sautet while he was still around. It's amazing how much he looked like Serrault when he directed him in Nelly. I didn't realize Sautet'd died in 2000 or that Nelly came out as long as ten years ago. Speaking of Sautet, I'm also a big fan of Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres, a great ensemble piece and an example of a movie about grown up people with grown up problems.

I haven't seen Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres. Will check it out; I believe it's available on vhs. Have seen his popular 1972 film César et Rosalie with Yves Montand and Romy Schneider. This one also deals with grown up problems.

VHS is how i discovered Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres. I have not seen the popular 1972 film César et Rosalie--I'll have to get it. French films seem to focus more on grownup problems than ours, but not always in the way of Vincent, etc. Maybe it's a more recent innovation for them to focus on youth -- and an underclass, as in Lila Says and La Haine, etc., do you think?

The definition of what’s considered an "independent" film nowadays has certainly broadened. In recent years we’ve seen big-budget films financed by sub-divisions of major studios competing with the rest of the market yet they’re still considered indies. However, that doesn’t apply to Campbell Scott’s Off the Map. Unlike those "pseudo-indies," it was made with as minuscule a budget as possible but it languished without a distribution deal for nearly two years after premiering at Sundance in 2003. In most cases, the blame is placed on the distributors for not taking enough chances but that’s hard to do in this case. A voice-over narration (overutilized here which usually signals that the director doesn’t have much confidence in his own abilities) from a young woman takes us to the summer of 1974 when she was a precocious 11-year-old (Valentina de Angelis) living at an off-the-map location somewhere in New Mexico with her enterprising "earth mother" (Joan Allen) and an almost catatonic father (Sam Elliot). No one quite knows what ails the patriarch but it’s probably not that they primarily live off the land and their makeshift house is devoid of any modern comforts. Then one day, another depressed soul, this time a tax-inspector, shows up at their paradise but conveniently passes out perhaps due to the overwhelming milieu or the fact that Allen was in the nude admiring the beauty of a nearby coyote. Needless to say, he ends up staying for a little longer than what anyone in the family expected, but he expectedly (at least to us) ends up bringing about certain changes to this unit. Scott has a lot going for him in Off the Map -- the strong performances from Allen and Elliot; the breathtaking, Malick-esque visuals of Juan Ruiz Anchía; an unusual subject matter -- but he fails to properly take advantage. Certainly, the stilted dialogue, part of a poorly written screenplay (surprisingly since writer Joan Ackermann adapted it from her own play) didn’t help matters. Another problem here is that our young narrator is the least interesting character; her overly-theatrical performance is annoying to say the least. Instead of adapting a metaphysical and poetic stance (it's possible that he simply isn’t capable), Scott chooses a more conventional approach for a film which moves in fits and starts, and ends up grinding to a halt.


Grade: C

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
VHS is how i discovered Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres. I have not seen the popular 1972 film César et Rosalie--I'll have to get it. French films seem to focus more on grownup problems than ours, but not always in the way of Vincent, etc. Maybe it's a more recent innovation for them to focus on youth -- and an underclass, as in Lila Says and La Haine, etc., do you think?

---

Yeah, I think César et Rosalie is available on DVD. As for the focus on youth, you might be right. Perhaps the market has changed and it demands certain types of films. Although, Nouvelle Vague and some post-NV filmmakers dealt with youth in their own ways, didn't they? I'm not sure if I, or you, have the time to go deep into La Haine (I think hengcs just started a thread), but I don't see too much depth or relevant socio-political critique there. It looks good; sounds good; is certainly a "cool" film to like; has a Christian, a Jew, and a Muslim roaming around and speaking the "langue de la banlieue," but that's about it.

They have César et Rosalie on Netflix and I've requested it. La Haine caused a stir and, I believe, got publicity here by being brought in under the aegis of Jodie Foster, who did an interview on Charlie Rose with Kassovitz. However, the actual film seemed so boring I couldn't sit through it. True, Nouvelle Vague films have young people, from les 400 coups on, however often not in a "youth" context. You wouldn't call Le genoux de Claire a youth context. Maybe Nénette et Boni is though

Finally got to finish Law and Order (1969) from Frederick Wiseman. Like numerous films, this DVD had a problem (because it was burnt). So with it finished, I can see in this film the genesis of the show Cops. On a more serious note, the film is absolutely fantastic. Although I've only seen three full films from him, I might just list Wiseman as my favorite documentary filmmaker. His style is strictly observational. He just lets his camera record what's going on. I wish he wasn't such a lunatic and would actually allow his films to come out on DVD, which despite rumors still looks like it'll never happen. He's a true visionary in his field, and along with Titicut Follies and High School, I would consider Law and Order a throroughly interesting and ingenius slice of direct cinema. I know it isn't exactly easy to find his films, but if any of you can get your hands on any Wiseman movies, please do so, you will not be disappointed.

In many circles, Wiseman is not only considered the best documentarian, but simply the best American filmmaker alive. I'd like to see a bit more of his work in order to properly evaluate him. Although, Titicut Follies (1967), Public Housing (1997), Domestic Violence (2001) etc. speak for themselves.

La Haine caused a stir and, I believe, got publicity here by being brought in under the aegis of Jodie Foster, who did an interview on Charlie Rose with Kassovitz. However, the actual film seemed so boring I couldn't sit through it.

I didn't know that Jodie Foster and Charlie Rose were involved. Anyway, I'm a little startled that you found the film boring. I know most will probably disagree with that part even though they might not like the film themselves. Kassovitz hasn't accomplished much since then and to be honest, I'm not surprised (Amelie doesn't count).

Made in USA (1966) - Jean Luc Godard

I just might have to hand the title over to Godard as the greatest filmmaker ever. This is about the 14th film of his I've seen from the sixties, and it's great. I believe it was the last of his collaborations with Anna Karina, which makes it somewhat bittersweet. She was my favorite leading lady of his, and although I could never cite her as a great actress, she is a fascinating face.

Plot is pointless in any Godard film, but this one is set up as a mystery. Anna's lover was killed, and she has to find out who did it. Along the way many strange characters pop up, and for no reason whatsoever Marriane Faithful sings "As Tears Go By" in a cafe. Godard of course can't sit still for long, and likes to use his normal techniques of intertitles, non-diegetic shots, and of course direct camera narration. It may not be anything new for Godard, but it is still unique in the annals of cinema. But the next time I watch a Kubrick, Scorsese, or Bergman film I'll probably change my mind again.

Similar in some ways to Danny Cannon's Judge Dredd and often drawing unfair comparisons to Blade Runner, this is a classic of sorts.

The story is a sci-fi good vs. evil thing with Alphaville intensity.
It seems like an amalgam of Dune, Wigstock and Robocop.
Powerful visuals, with large, operatic space scenes.
Religion invades every frame.
Watch it for the striking camerawork, perfect editing and mind-blowing soundtrack.

Besson is an auteur.

Gary Oldman is arresting as Zorg. His visage is repulsive fashion show chic with the Mad Hatter's collar. His (Texas?) accent and hairstyle are grating. "Rocket launcher, Arrow launcher with exploding poisonous gas heads (very practical), our famous Net launcher, the always efficient Flame-Thrower, ice-cube system... ". Fun stuff.


It's an absurdly comedic premise, and Besson might be accused of trying too hard but I love the spirit of this film.
His use of color is very pleasing to the eye.
The futuristic 23rd century cops are pretty cool. Their uniforms are gauche, but it's good gauche, the kind of gauche Versace brought to Judge Dredd. "Garish but right" gauche..

I like the basic story involving earth, air, fire and water and Supreme Beings.
Some shots are pure cinema: city scapes, the cruise ships (Fhloston Paradise), shots of explosions, suns/planets, the whole Diva Plavalaguna sequence, etc..

Overall Besson is quite the visionary. He's got a Baz Luhrmann
feel but please don't think I'm comparing them.
They are two different animals.

The sfx and effects-laden finale are reason enough to give Fifth Element repeat looks.

Quote:

---

I didn't know that Jodie Foster and Charlie Rose were involved. Anyway, I'm a little startled that you found the film boring. I know most will probably disagree with that part even though they might not like the film themselves. Kassovitz hasn't accomplished much since then and to be honest, I'm not surprised (Amelie doesn't count).

---

I should have said only that Jodie's sponsorship of the film may have helped it here. Charlie only interviewed her and Kassowitz, didn't otherwise sponsor La Haine. I probably should have sat through it. Now I can't find it at Netfflix. It's expensive to buy a tape of it. If Vincent Cassel was in it (when he was good) that would be a reason to watch it. Obviously it has a significant spot in recent French film history. I'll have to see it somehow. As for Kassovitz, agreed, but as an actor he has some significant credits, perhaps most significant, Audiard's A Self-Made Hero (Un héros très discret)? Also not on Netflix -- therefore not on a US DVD?

These Are the Damned (1963) - Joseph Losey

Considered an important film in the career of Joseph Losey, this caries some of his pacifist ideology from his days in America. The print I had was terrible, formatted to fit my screen, and none of the dialogue matched the lips of the characters. Oliver Reed makes a very early appearance as the gang member brother. Although it seems like a protective brother from a dysfunctional family is going to go to lenghts to prevent his sister from finding happiness, the story takes a strange turn. Suddenly there are perpetually 11 year old kids made for atomic survival. It gets strange, and the government gets involved, etc. Perhaps it had some relevance in the early sixties, but seems somewhat silly today.

Maybe your next one should be The Boy with Green Hair. Have you seen

The Servant
Accident
Mr. Klein
Modesty Blaise
Galileo
The Go-Between

I think his collaborations with Pinter are fascinating, above all The Servant.

Dan Callahan has an interesting opinionated and gossipy piece about Losey in Sense of Cinema http://www.sensesofcinema.com/conten.../03/losey.html

I have seen the Boy With Green Hair, hence the reason for my opinion about the film.

As for the others on your list I've seen The Servant, Go-Between, and The Accident. Of those, the Servant is by far the best, and it's my favorite Losey film period.

I just watched Antonioni's The Passenger (1975) and it was fantastic. His best English film imo, and it's a crime this isn't more readily available. The best of the pictures I've seen today (and I have been busy).

Audiard's A Self-Made Hero (Un héros très discret)? Also not on Netflix -- therefore not on a US DVD?

No, it's not available on DVD yet, at least not in the U.S. While it's not an automatic that if a film is out on DVD it will be accessable through NetFlix, that is the case most of the time.

The Servant is also my favorite Losey, closely followed by Monsieur Klein. La Truite with Huppert is also pretty good. I do need to see more of him, though.

I'm thinking about camping outside Film Forum for The Passenger. It is scheduled for a re-release in October.

I don't agree with wpqx that The Passenger is Antonioni's best Engliish language movie, and I'm astonished that he'd say that. Blowup is a classic and tremendously influential, as well as an interesting still-elegant picture of Swingin' Sixties London, with it's Who Concert, parties with drugs, its trendy young women and its androgynous, though macho, protagonist, not to mention its metaphor about photography and crime.

I think that each of the Losey-Pinter collaborations is brilliant and fascinating, but The Servant is of course the best of the three movies, both as a development of Pinter's themes and as a movie. Dan Callahan's Senses of Cinema comments on Losey, his relationship with Dick Bogarde, and his handling of the servant-master relationship is very interesting.

Monsieur Klein (why did I call it "Mr. Klein"?), Modesty Blaise, and Galileo are all worth watching.

Last Film I've Seen: Bruno Dumont's Twentynine Palms , on DVD.

Well I didn't "get" Blow Up when I first watched it, and honestly haven't watched it again. The DVD release I believe wasn't worth buying, so I've just been left with my first reaction. Oh and I believe it was the Yardbirds, not the Who in there (I destinctly remember seeing Jimmy Page on stage). The Passenger was just a moving hypnotic film, from it's opening desert shots, to it's final illustrious long take, it captivated me, which few films really do. It was a film that made me pay attention, made me want to rewatch scenes, and pay attention. I had to deal with Japanese subtitles, but well for this film beggars can't be choosers. Hell I once watched City of Sadness without any subtitles, and believe me I can't follow Chinese.

I've seen most of the Losey films that came recommended (at least through my out of date History of Film book where I first heard of him). Monsieur Klein however I have not seen, so that will most likely be the next one to check out, any word on it being available on DVD?

Also wonder if any of you are fans of his Don Giovanni, I mean it's very uncharacteristic of him, but I think it may be the best filmed opera, certainly miles above Bergman's Magic Flute. But if I remember correctly no one seems to have seen this film.

Have not seen Don Giovanni. Can't say I'm much of an opera fan so I wouldn't seek it out.

Our reactions to Blowup and The Passenger are at opposite poles. To me the latter was overwhelmed by its sick-soul-of-Europe profundity. As with the movie I've just watched, Twentynine Palms, the filmmaker's working away from his natural milieu in both, but Antonioini's use of Sixties London works, partly just by luck I think, but also because the situation has some degree of urgency about it. A problem with The Passenger for me may be that just as Bruno Dumont is using the horror movie format to make philosophical statements and it turns into a fashion shoot with crude sex and quarrels, The Passenger uses the thriller format to ponder the issue of identity but his connection to his "story" is so casual and uncommited that it's hard to care about the generalizations about identity either. Antonioini loses himself in The Passenger in the netherworld of what one writer calls "Lacan's primary matrix (Imaginary, Symbolic, Real)" -- notice that real comes last. Blowup is rooted in Sixties London atmosphere, which he somehow was able to catch, though there is at least one artsy Felliniesque interlude (the costumed team of mimes) that drags us into the Symbolic with a capital S. The whole change-of-identity story of The Passenger feels contrived and there's nothing and no one to identify with. Sure, it's hypnotic and dream-like, but that blends into uninvolving and soporific after a while. I hope I'm wrong and they're both great and the relative lack of interest in The Passenger compared to A's big trilogy L'Avventura, La notte, L'Eclisse and a few others including Il Deserto rosso and Blowup is a case of criminal neglect, but that hasn't been my viewing experience. The Passenger certainly isn't as vapid and embarrassing as Zabriskie Point, but it fails to engage and is an indication that somhow, after a pretty long period of originality and sheer genius as a filmmaker, he was slowly but surely losing his way.

Well I probably will get a repeat viewing of Blow Up done, believe me it's on my list of films to re-watch, but the list of films to see for a first time is still too large.

I finally got to see Lukas Moodysson's Together (2000). Admittedly I've never seen all of Show Me Love, so this is my first full film from him, and I have to say I enjoyed it. It is a charming film, and although there might have been too many characters, I do think that most of them stayed interesting enough to carry the film through.

I'm not an opera fan either, per-se but any film highly rated I'll see.

Together is a charming and enjoyable movie.

Quote:

---

Well I probably will get a repeat viewing of Blow Up done, believe me it's on my list of films to re-watch, but the list of films to see for a first time is still too large.....I'm not an opera fan either, per-se but any film highly rated I'll see.

---

Granted you don't have to be a fan of a genre to want to see a highly rated film. As for re-watching, I'd rather re-watch a movie I previously loved, than one that left me cold. It's usually more worthwhile. Unless you're locked in a debate with somebody or reexamining something systematically, better to move forward. Life's short, and the lists are long.

Well some of my favorite films didn't do much on a first viewing, I think La Dolce Vita is the biggest example of a second viewing turnaround. All too often though I get a similar reaction on a repeat viewing.

I watched some Kenneth Anger films today, three to be exact.

Innauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954)
This one was an early color film, and he uses it well, quite strange and bizarre, but so are all of his films

Invocation of My Demon Brother (1969?)

This featured music by Mick Jagger, which was actually just obnoxious synthesizers, quite easy to see that he was high, and so was Anger when this film was made.

Lucifer Rising (1970?)

See above

In all pretty good tripped out crap.

Quote:

---

Well some of my favorite films didn't do much on a first viewing

---

If you're talking about watching them on DVD or tape at home that's understandable, but doesn't count. If you're talking about in theaters, that's an impractical, costly, and time consuming approach. I'd say, just pay more attention, but at home, that may be hard since it's easier to drift away from the monitor screen.

Quote:

---

quite easy to see that he was high, and so was Anger when this film was made.

---

You can't really say that unless you actually know. Appearances can be deceptive. What you can say is that it's stoner stuff. And I'd probably agree with you on that. Jagger's "just obnoxious synthesizers" has a powerful hypnotic effect, though that may no longer work for you.

Intriguing and well described.

What you say sounds like it could be a B+ instead, but I too like Maggie, and so I guess I must see this, which you do make sound interesting.

Last films I've seen: Singleton's Four Brothers

Greg Marcks's 11:14 .

I can't say whether you'll like Happy Endings or not. Usually I've a pretty good idea where you'll stand on a film but that's tough to judge here. There have been a few too many of these "multiple" character films lately but this one seemed fresh to me, partly due to the performances. It's not the kind most will like, though. Reaction has been mixed.

I guess you liked Singleton's latest. But what about 11:14, I mean what made you go see it?

Well, I went to see 11:14 because my friend picked it over Junebug. I think I like comedies more than he does but we both like crime movies. It's worthwhile to see a new young director's work, and the person I went with is young. Yes I did like Four Brothers, but I would rate it and 11:14 about the same overall. I can't say Four Brothers is a great movie, or that 11:14 is a bad one. It shows talent and has a clever, airtight screenplay, even if it's missing something, which maybe Greg Marcks will find as time goes on.

Last film I"ve seen: Cédric Klapisch's 1996 Un air de famille, US title Family Resemblances [DVD>Netflix]. From a play by Jean-Pierre Bacri and Agnès Jaoui. Excellent cast including:

Jean-Pierre Bacri .... Henri (grumpy brother, bar owner)
Jean-Pierre Darroussin .... Denis (his meek employee)
Catherine Frot .... Yolande (ditsy wife of Philippe)
Agnès Jaoui .... Betty (slightly macho sister, in leather jacket)
Claire Maurier .... La Mère (mother, an accident waiting to happen)
Wladimir Yordanoff ... Philippe (the "successful" brother, the insecure cyber exec)

IMDb summary by Eileen Berdon: "An upper middle-class French family celebrates a birthday in a restaurant. In one evening and during one meal, family history, tensions, collective and separate grudges, delights, and memories both clash and coalesce."

Well, that's right but "upper-class" could be misleading. Upper middle-class, maybe. One brother is an executive, number 4 in a Silicon Valley type firm, but the other runs the bar -- it's more a bar than a restaurant, from what we see -- and it's no great success, more a sign of Henri's lack of ambition (that's Jean-Pierre Bacri) and the sister (Agnès Jaoui) works as an underling at the firm, and her boyfriend is the barman and she seems totally without ambition even to marry, at 30. The exec's wife is a rather ditsy (but at moments sweet) blonde lady. One gets the impression that the family is somewhat going to seed. Henri's wife has just left him, Betty can't commit to anything, Philippe's totally insecure, their mom is a pain... This was a play written by Jaoui and Bacri and is full of their delicious dry humor, pettiness and grumpiness and keen social and psychological observation. I found it very funny but at the same time a bit depressing and somewhat static, since it's a play. To underline the static quality, one of the "charicters" is Caruso, a paralyzed dog. It doesn't "open up" as the 2000 Le goût des autres/The Taste of Others and the 2004 Comme une image/Look at Me do; on the other hand, the focus on personalities is even more precise. The "air" is bad air (or a sad tune or an undesrable resemblance), but things don't end on a too unhappy note in this gentle, ironic comedy. Now that I'm following French dialogue more carefully, I enjoyed this a lot, including the social nuances I could catch about who gets called "tu" and who gets called "vous" and when. Klapisch keeps the camera moving but unobtrusive, adding a childhood flashback perhaps once too often, framing the story with a street panorama and a warm musical theme. To call Bacri "grumpy" may be redundant. I'm not sure what led Klapisch (who from L'Auberge espagnole seems to have a more lighthearted outlook himself) to direct this, and for Jaoui to start directing her writing with Bacri afterwards with Taste of Others and Look at Me.

The window between theatrical and DVD releases is certainly shrinking. 11:14 came out in theaters on Aug 12th, and it will be on home video on Oct 11th. I'll keep it in mind. Although, your review of Four Brothers seems more positive.

Un air de famille sounds very familiar. I'm sure I saw it on French tv when I was a youngster (I feel old now, you know). Don't remember much about it so that's not a good sign, but I don't think Klapisch has made a film yet which is worth remembering. Chacun cherche son chat (When the Cat's Away/1996) was nice though.

Ha! I saw Chacun cherche son chat and I can't rememver it either. But I've re-watched Auberge Espagnole recently to compare Duris' role there with Tom in The Beat That My Heart Skipped so I certainly remember that. Klapisch seems to be a pretty bland but competent director.

Maybe 11:14 isn't a case of the window between theater and DVD release narrowing but the fact that they gave up on theatrical release and went for DVD, but somehow theatrical distribution has come through. That's what I thought.

But I've re-watched Auberge Espagnole recently to compare Duris' role there with Tom in The Beat That My Heart Skipped

Yeah, I wonder which one you found more compelling?!

Anyway, DO NOT miss the new print of Bertolucci's The Conformist if it makes it to SF. Absolutely ravishing! That was an unbelievable experience. I'm glad I caught it in its last week at Film Forum.

Yeah, I wonder which one you found more compelling?!

I find L'auberge entertaining -- and not the piece of empty tomfoolery you may consider it. It's not realistic, not meant to be, but it has plenty of charm and it moves with a brisk pace. And Duris manages to provide a range of lively emotions, which vary from depressed to aroused to intense to riotous to silly.

But The Beat That My Heart Skipped is, needless to say, a chance for him to do something much edgier and more intense. He's a whole different person in that. I hardly recognized him at first. This is the role that can make people take notice that the guy can act. But his performance in Tony Gatlif's Gadjo Dilo got him a nomination for the César du Meilleur [jeune] espoir [masculin], I find, so I figure that's worth a look (I saw it once, but it made little impression).

CLAUDE SAUTET: CÉSAR ET ROSALIE (1972)

Flawed perfection

A quiet and flawed little early Seventies "classic" by Sautet about a love triangle. Why quiet, despite the violence and threat of destruction emanating from Yves Montand's character (César), the very successful and impulsive scrap metal dealer? Because David, his cartoonist/illustrator rival (Sami Frey), is so calm, and because Rosalie (a too-perfect Romy Schneider) is so reserved. And flawed -- because the story and the characters ultimately go nowhere. Why "classic" (in quotation marks, however)? Because of the excellent casting, the sure touch, and the polished look. This should be seen in conjunction with Sautet's more complex 1974 Vincent, François, Paul... et les autres, also featuring Yves Montand in the central male role.

As the film begins, César and Rosalie are living together. David reappears after a stay in America. It turns out David has always loved Rosalie, but he let her marry somebody else (an artist from whom she's for some time been divorced). When David reappears at a wedding, Rosalie quietly goes off and spends time with him. César meets David at a café and politely but very firmly tells him to back off. David ignores this, and César wrecks his studio. Rosalie takes David to César's offices, gives him the combination to the safe so he can steal a million francs in compensation for the studio damage -- and runs away to live with him and work in a café in another town. People are able to act with gross impulsivity in this movie -- and still remain pals with the victims of their acts. César tracks the pair down and plays his trump card: he's bought the big seaside house where Rosalie was so happy as a child. She now goes off to live there with him. But later César goes to David again, with a polite proposal. . .

In actual screen time, the male-to-male relationship is more fully represented -- and hence develops more -- than the rapports between Rosalie and either of the two men. It goes from confrontation, to truce, to friendship, to intense camaraderie. The ménage è trois doesn't work for Rosalie, and she goes off by herself. As philosophical voiceovers (by Michel Piccoli) come and go, you expect something desperate and violent to happen. Perhaps César will off David; or both men will die violently at sea or on the road? But instead, in the complete absence of Rosalie, César and David remain bachelors and become each other's best friends and most constant companions. Maybe they should get married to each other? But the trouble is, they aren't gay, and this was before gay marriage anyway.

Frey is perfectly handsome and charming in the hirsute style of the Seventies; Schneider is perfectly elegant and beautiful in the cold style of Yves Saint Laurent; Montand is as great a combination of charming and macho and emotional and "cool" as anybody in the movies has ever been. You understand why the other two both love him. He's a little older, but thank God for that. He's tall and slim and he has all his hair and he's got that grin and that twinkle in the eyes, and when he brandishes a big cigar, it looks dashing and you forget that it stinks.

But there's a flaw in the piece, which is Rosalie. She has been tremendously admired by viewers and the director himself, who spoke of Romy Schneider as representing "all women" (though he was originally going to cast Deneuve). But Schneider really hasn't much to do other than be pleasant and look lovely and move around from scene to scene. (In view of the way her part is written, the icy Deneuve might have been more convincing -- and more haunting.) Rosalie expresses herself by running off; or by being absent when she's with César and can't get David out of her mind. David is appealing in an enigmatic kind of way. Like Rosalie, he bends cooperatively at times, but holds back a part of himself always. All the passion is César's. This is like Jules et Jim with a lovely mannequin where Jeanne Moreau's character was (unfortunately "all women" apparently is not a single, real, live woman). A positive addition, typical of Sautet's work, is that the two men's professional work is a strong element in the story.

The writer-director team is to be congratulated on not opting for a violent resolution. But they have found no resolution, and their surprise finale is only a repetition. Despite the charisma of the three principals, a movie that repeats and goes nowhere, no matter how appealing, can't be called a masterpiece. César et Rosalie is an idea that is toyed with as a kitten toys with a ball of wool, and then abandoned, left in a harmless tangle. If these people weren't so attractive, they'd seem aimless and desperate.

[DVD>Netflix.]

Posted on Chris Knipp website.

Quote:

---

Originally posted by Chris Knipp
I find L'auberge entertaining -- and not the piece of empty tomfoolery you may consider it. It's not realistic, not meant to be, but it has plenty of charm and it moves with a brisk pace. And Duris manages to provide a range of lively emotions, which vary from depressed to aroused to intense to riotous to silly.

---

Yeah, I actually do consider it an "piece of empty tomfoolery." I think it tries to be "realistic," but it's clichéd and a bit too eager to please. You liked it that's why it moved with a brisk pace for you; for me, it was 2 hrs too long.

I agree that pace is, often, a subjective thing.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Mysterious Object at Noon (2000)

Henry Alex Rubin & Dana Adam Shapiro's Murderball (2005)

Last Days (2005) - Gus Van Sant

Drove to a theater that I hope to never have to go to again to see this one (let's just say splitting an atom is less complicated than their parking garage). Well knowing nothing about the film I went in blind. I began to notice many, many similarities to Blake (Michael Pitt) and Kurt Cobain, just as everyone noticed similarities between the teens in Elephant to the Trench Coat Mafia of Columbine. And I tell you, with the glasses, and jacket, I could have sworn I was looking at Cobain (Pitt even sings like him too). The rest of the cast has some interesting moments (Asia Argento keeps her clothes on again), and Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth) makes an appearance as what my guess would be Blake's mother, or something like that.

Overall I can't say the film had quite the same impact that Elephant had, but it was damn good, and the more I think about it, the better I like it. Last Days is a film that stays with you, it runs through your mind, and that's good for a film. All too often I forget everything about a film as soon as it's over. I can't imagine this film is going to make ANY money here. The city of Chicago had it playing in only one theater (that's including all the suburbs), and that one theater on a Friday still had about 7 people in it total. It's a damn shame, because people went to see Van Sant's much lamer films like Finding Forester and Good Will Hunting, but well there's no accounting for taste. I hope Van Sant stays on the art house route that he's currently on, I really think the man is at his peak.

Also got to re-watch Last Year at Marienbad (1960). This one was the first Resnais film I had seen, and since then I've come to understand and appreciate his style much more. On a second viewing I found myself falling asleep just as I did the first time. I also wasn't as completely captivated as I thought I should have been. A second take didn't really help to elevate this film. Sure I think it's better than the last time, but I still would probably prefer Providence or Mon Oncle D'Amerique to this.

Glad somebody else here saw and liked Last Days and you'll find my enthusiastic review of it on this site here http://www.filmwurld.com/forums/show...&threadid=1444 -- it would be nice if you could discuss it on that thread I started. I'm assuming nobody has seen it or has anything to say about it since the thread hasn't had any contributors other than me and arsaib. How can that be? I regret that it disappeared quickly before I got another chance to watch it in the theater because it's a visually beautiful movie just like 2046. If people say "I'll wait for the DVD" they just don't know what they're missing.

Have you seen Gerry? That is one with the series, Gerry, Elephant, Last Days. Very artistic, very personal, definitely reclaiming terroritory Van Sant lost with things like Finding Forrester and his pointless Psycho remake.

I may have appreciated Last Days more because I have little knowledge of or interest in Kurt Cobain. Though obviously I know the story of his end, in general, I wasn't distracted by thinking about Cobain for a minute while watching Last Days.

Each one in this last trilogy by Van Sant establishes its own world, pace, and mood.

Of course Elephant has the most impact. But Last Days may be the most haunting of the three. One critic said, "The poetry of Last Days has a stoned grandeur," Manohla Dargis: "One of this year's indisputably great films." Unfortunatley, it didn't do that well even critically. I'm afraid it's Elephant that is going to last in people's collective critical movie memories. But the three, Gerry, Elephant, and Last Days, should really be seen as a single long hypnotic meditation on youth and death.

I have the DVD of Elephant.
I'm watching it again tonight.

Hey, I liked van Sant's Psycho. He updated it and made it even more creepy. Vince Vaughn was pretty wacko.
William H. Macy was in fine form.

Sant's Psycho has gotten a bashing since 1998 and I think it's undeserved. I understand the blasphemy crowd when it comes to Hitchcock cinephiles but cripes who can complain about the new shower scene?

I'd certainly prefer to see Last Days on the big-screen. Harry Savides' work probably deserves it. But this film is another example of the shrinking "window" between the theatrical and home video release. It had a limited run starting on July 22nd and Oct 25th is the DVD release date.

It seems like the number of releases this year have been far greater than before. It's been tough keeping up. I just saw Broken Flowers and The Constant Gardener but I feel like I've missed on so many during the past few weeks. Will post a few thoughts on the Jarmusch film tomorrow.

Would love to hear your comments on Elephant, Johann. I believe this Palme D'or winner was one of the best films of 2003.